


Take the Wheel

by eqyptiangold



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Road Trips, Slow Burn, Stiles Stilinski is Part of the Pack, Stiles is a terrible driver, Summer Vacation, Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-25 06:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17116082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eqyptiangold/pseuds/eqyptiangold
Summary: “Derek,” he mumbled instead, “dude, what the fuck?” It seemed that Stiles was too tired to say much else.“I’m fine,” Derek snapped gruffly. Even from the back seat, Stiles could see that the alpha’s knuckles were white from gripping the wheel too tightly.“You need to sleep,” Stiles replied. Based on the sighs that filled the van, he guessed that the same argument had already happened.“I’m fine,” Derek repeated, his grip tightening on the wheel.





	Take the Wheel

Stiles had never been on a proper road trip with friends. Sure, he’d had the obligatory trip or two with his family as a ten-year-old, but that didn’t count. Overcooked s’mores with his parents was nothing in comparison to what he hoped the pack-bonding weekend would be. Just in case, he’d stocked the trunk of their rented van with bottles upon bottles of wolfsbane liquor. If all else failed, he’d packed equal amounts of regular alcohol for himself. 

After being betrayed by Derek’s attempt at expanding the pack--a wolf named James, who was now buried in the woods--they all needed a fun trip. Weeks had gone by since James first revealed his hidden intentions, but nothing had been the same since. Although no one explicitly said it, Stiles didn’t need heightened senses to see the tension that lingered in the pack. Everyone’s trust in one another had weakened. Pack sleepovers became a hell of a lot less fun when no one would sleep without protectively curling in on themselves to hide their neck. That was still a step-up from what Stiles had dubbed The Sleepless Night, during which the only one who got a wink of sleep was Stiles himself. The rest of the pack had rolled around while sneaking furtive glances at one another. Stiles wasn’t sure if it was a wolf thing or not, but even Lydia and Allison seemed uneasy at times. 

No one could top Derek, though. The werewolf had always been closed off and hesitant to trust, and the incident with James had only worsened it. For the first week after killing the asshole, no one could even touch Derek without garnering a flash of red eyes and claws, along with a low, rumbling growl. 

When Scott had finally managed to land a friendly pat on the alpha’s shoulder without getting his throat torn out, Stiles had announced that they needed a pack bonding road trip. Two days later, gigantic vehicle rented, suitcases crammed in the back, and they were off. Derek sat in the driver’s seat--clad in jeans and a leather jacket, because of course the dude couldn’t wear a damn hoodie and sweatpants. Even Lydia had donned leggings and a pink shirt that wasn’t quite a t-shirt but still looked comfortable enough. Stiles was really just using the trip as an excuse to wear his loosest flannel and hoodie; Derek had put his eyebrows to work that morning to look him up and down judgmentally. 

“This song sucks,” Jackson announced out of nowhere. Stiles could just  _ feel _ Scott rolling his eyes, but he still switched the radio station. Derek was driving while Scott sat in the passenger's seat; they were supposed to switch every few hours, but Derek had yet to allow it. Erica, the backup-backup driver, was taking advantage of it. She was curled into Boyd’s side, sleeping with her hand protectively covering her neck. Stiles sat between her and the right wall of the van, crammed in the back seat with Erica, Boyd, and Isaac. In front of them, Allison was seated behind Scott and beside Lydia and Jackson. 

Stiles spent a few hours making easy conversation with the three werewolves next to him and texting with Scott from opposite ends of the van. At some point, though, he inevitably fell asleep. Really, Stiles had been the only one smart enough to bring a pillow and blanket for the car ride; how could anyone expect him  _ not _ to sleep? That, and he’d been up all night researching irrelevant shit on Wikipedia. The summer break had really and truly ruined his sleep schedule, and it was still July. 

On the bright side, Stiles could now list thirty-three of the forty types of Toucans. 

 

-+-

 

“Let go of the fucking wheel, Hale.”

Stiles woke up the car swerving suddenly, a chorus of growls from half-turned werewolves, and smugness positively  _ pouring _ off of Derek. 

“What the fuck,” Stiles groaned sleepily, rubbing a hand up across his face and through his messy hair. “Why are we telling the man behind the wheel of a car going forty miles an hour to let go?” Still half-asleep, he tugged his blanket up over his shoulders as he awaited an explanation. 

“He won’t let me drive,” Scott whined, twisting in his seat to look desperately at Stiles. “It’s been hours. Dude, you slept through, like, six stops and an almost-speeding ticket.” Stiles didn’t bother asking about what was meant by an “almost speeding ticket.” 

“Derek,” he mumbled instead, “dude, what the fuck?” It seemed that the teenager was too tired to say much else. 

“I’m fine,” Derek snapped gruffly. Even from the back seat, Stiles could see that the alpha’s knuckles were white from gripping the wheel too tightly. 

“You need to sleep,” Stiles replied. Based on the sighs that filled the van, he guessed that the same argument had already happened.

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” Derek repeated, his grip tightening on the wheel. Lydia sighed huffily. 

Seeing the exasperated expressions on all his friends’ faces, Stiles decided that it was a losing battle. “Just try not to crash the car, alright? It’s a rental.” With that, the teenager curled back up under his blanket and went back to sleep. 

  
  



End file.
